No doubt many from the cycling community have heard of the Bike Kitchen in SF (see youtube vidi below).   “The Bike Kitchen is a cooperative, do-it-yourself bike repair shop…  Our staff of volunteer mechanics is available to give advice and answer questions.”  It costs $5 bucks a day or 40-80$ a year to join and use tools which value in the thousands to have a smooth rolling bike(bikes if you are like me).

Now we hear news of the Bicycle Works in San Anselmo, just launched this weekend with support from the new owners of Breezer Bikes.  Membership there is $100 a year, with access to tools and classes – a great amenity.  Of course, in the east bay we have a couple of co-op places: Missing Link in Berkeley and Cycles of Change Alameda Point Collaborative.  But still, where’s the O in cooperative?

All this interest and enthusiasm for bike repair and the creation of bicycle culture hot spots brings us to the need for one in Oakland.  Rebecca Kaplan, Oakland’s At Large City Council member, specifically suggested in a recent meeting with WOBO that the city should help foster a downtown bike kitchen / “bike station” / community space.  If this rings a bell for you – let us know.  It would be a great addition for Oakland’s varied cycling community and offer a way to keep everyone’s bike running nice and smooth when the roads are rough.

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